Retired Policeman Walks Into Life-Saving Act, 2 Current Officers Help

Pat Bobrowicz now knows that her heart couldn't have stopped beating at a more convenient place and time than while driving her friends to a restaurant on the evening of March 24.

That's because as a rider in the front passenger seat managed to stop the vehicle on Oak Park Avenue and pull it over near 179th Street, a retired police officer who was taking a nighttime stroll was just steps away. And that former officer, Ralph Hilton, said he immediately recognized there was a problem. 

"There were four of us in the car," Bobrowicz, 57, of East Hazel Crest, said. "I started swerving and I went unconscious."

Bobrowicz was in full cardiac arrest by the time Hilton got to the vehicle, where he quickly began chest compressions on a perfect stranger. He called 911 and soon had two other officers at his side. 

Patrolmen Dennis Mahoney and Michael Schabert fell instinctively into their life-saving roles. Schabert took over compressions and Mahoney prepared an automated defibrillator.

"For something as bad as that was, all the pieces fit together perfectly," Schabert said. "I was definitely in the right place at the right time."

That night, Bobrowicz went into cardiac arrest three times—once while in the hands of the officers and twice during an ambulance ride to . Meanwhile, her sister, Elly Bzdyl, 60, of Hazel Crest, was driving back from Michigan.

"I prayed the whole time," she said Tuesday night at the , where the three officers were honored for their heroism. "I was in a panic not knowing if she'd be gone by the time I got there."

Bobrowicz spent nearly a week at South Suburban before she was transferred to Advocate Christ Medical Center, where she underwent a quadruple bypass surgery. She attended Tuesday's Village of Tinley Park Board meeting to "thank my three angels" in person.

"It's just a strange twist of fate that the retired officer was right there," Bobrowicz said. "I sent them all a note and gift card for Beggar's Pizza, where I work. But how do you thank someone for saving your life?"

beamed with pride while recounting the actions of his men.

"We're not in the business where we get compliments every day," he said. "This is a happy story and we're just glad to be here."

Schabert said he was grateful to be recognized by the village board but more thankful that Bobrowicz survived.

"This is what we (officers) do," he said. "It's our job. … This certificate is great, but saving her meant so much more."

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